Morbid Stone
by Pine Tree Horizon
Summary: Tally and Shay departure and whirled into threats of society. Some people follow Shay, craving to be Uglies again. Begging only carries grief.
1. Chapter 1

**Part One: Civil Cravings**

**The room vibrated while the stereo blared noisily. Clusters of teens danced away in endless cycles of unconsciousness. Streams of primary colored foam strung from one tedious wall to the other, linking together he angles of an octagon. Strobe lights punched my eyes shut as I sipped my mango iced tea, the glass like ice on my tongue.**

**Shadows flickered into darkness and onto a smoky silvery ambience a million miles per second. The bass and singing of piano pitched high and low like a propeller. My ears were prepared to pop and bleed violet.**

**I jerked my ankle forward, forcing the numbness to wake up and smell the atmosphere f this reality. Doing so, my toe blindly collided with bony flesh, my nail like a shovel into life. I heard a faint grunt and apologized at a pitch not clear enough to cover a sea of conversation.**

**The shadow shook and caved in near my personal space. I couldn't back up any further, so I dove under the table, careful not to knock the beverage jugs onto the floor. Dodging a maniac was worth it to remain safe. I apologized again for the sake of personal space and peered above me.**

**"It's alright," She yelled over the new applause. "I've been smashed around several times. I can handle an accidental toe jam. Meet me outside. Nobodies' watching. Their all hooked on some ceremony." However, that was an ironic conjecture, since every beautified body was crammed into this one building.**

**I snuck out of the crowded tables and stretched my aching calves. Squatting hurts like pins when you're an insomniac.**

**"Hey you!" A male voice called out. "Girl with the red hair and purple jumper!" I gasped and bolted through the dim lit opening. I wanted to shout a word of despise, but that would corrupt my chance of salvation, any temperate salvation. I wanted to slam the door in their faces, leave them with bafflement and doubts.**

**I became the bullet that sped around the corner and down the narrow hallway. I hesitated as the long drop met the bridge of the linoleum floorboard. The bushes would not be able to cushion the blow more than the flat grassland of injury. Then two hands shoved me forward abruptly, I braced my left foot in front of me and squatted. My hands clung to the doorframe in agitation as I me the familiar grey eyes of the Asian boy who called for me just moments ago. His stone-serious face dropped. His eyes furrowed.**

**Croy came.**

**"Jump, but you girls better not forget me in the near future when I catch up. I nodded and he respected my secret fleet. The floor shook and I strapped the belt of metal around my abdomen. My ears began to pop again and I jumped with swarms of emotional butterflies. The impact of gravity increased the acceleration of my body; the friction of a thick block blew my breath away momentarily. I felt sick. My kidneys hurt. Darkness circled my sight like a cape.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Part Two: **

** I woke up with a sore ache in my side. The hover board hid itself and decided to act stubborn. It would be foolish if I had taken my eyes off the dewy grass. Precipitation trudged eastward as a tedious array of sunrise gleamed in a dismal fashion. And now my jeans were soaked and heavy, as well as my shirt, wrinkled and cold. Autumn leaves crunched under my toes and specked the green hill with brown oak stems and pine cones. Gravity increased as I dropped onto my hands and knees, aware for the footsteps edging softly closer from a distance. I wasn't alone yet too lazy to budge. I suppose I surrendered.**

** Yeah right. **

** As my eyelids flicked open, a stone hand clapped over my mouth. My neck shot up as the crackling forged the hand away in disgust. I prepared myself to nip flesh. Special Circumstances or worse, the _system_, could throw people into prison, effigy, or to grieve miserably in the traumatized land of the Pretties.**

** "Stop that! It's like you're a saber-toothed tiger reckoning on gullible prey," Scoffed a smaller girl with light brown hair and lanky arms pressed against her hips. As I examined her surroundings cautiously, I recognized her in the light in contrast to the dark party octagon. Her dark eyes glared fire though me. For a moment, I flinched as she clenched and unclenched her agitated fists for a moment. _Wise choice,_ I though as she calmly exhaled and smiled. I mirrored her expression, still keeping alert of the environment. **

** "I'm defensive," I exclaimed. Was that a randomly lame excuse? A lie? I didn't introduce myself yet. I caught up on a vague sound and chained my fingers around her wrist. She jerked loose and we raced through prickles and brushed by a shaded pine tree. At least it was not poison ivy. **

** "Stalkers," I pointed out in whispered chants.**

** "I realize that," She scoffed, bothered. I kept silent. **

** We squatted in ready position, statues of eager cheaters, and verified our isolation. The girl shifted somewhat and leaned into my ears. "You'll eventually get caught. I will too. We all will."**

** "You know someone who believes it's a great life there, don't you?" I asked back. I guessed accurately. She nodded, a bit solemn. **

** "Her name is Tally. She doesn't even comprehend self dignity… or companionship. You probably have seen her around, traumatized by the crowds."**

** "It's miserable, really," I agreed. The nose faded away with orders shouted to head deeper into the forest. **

** 'The encounter of reign forges society closer to corruption. We need civil debates and promotion of civilization."**

** Eventually, we had t return to the octagon. Again, routinely, we acted as what the guardians expected. This was a 'pact' for survival. That is the way of the _system. _Memories were resisted in ephemeral periods of thought.**

** Still, we are not alone.**


End file.
